Tech: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Stealth Fighter First Flight

As much as any Scientologist will advocate that war is the silliest
possible ‘solution’ to any world problem, any engineer will doubtless
be able to appreciate the sheer beauty of a new stealth fighter jet. As such, here is the Lockheed Martin F-35:

December 17, 2006 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIlifted into the skies for the first time on Friday, completing asuccessful inaugural flight and initiating the most comprehensiveflight test program in military aviation history. The stealthy,multi-service F-35 is the most powerful single-engine fighter inhistory, and is designed to replace the F-16, F/A-18 Hornet, theHarrier and the A-10. The Lightning’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engineis the most powerful engine ever used in a jet fighter, producing40,000 pounds of thrust.